TURIN: 2006 WINTER OLYMPICS PREVIEW; Luge

Luge is the fastest of the sliding sports, with athletes reaching 90 miles an hour down the same ice track that is used for bobsled and skeleton runs in Cesana Pariol.

Men and women compete in singles, and the men have a doubles event. Competitors ride on sleds on their backs with their feet first.

The Olympic track's final two curves were fixed after some frightening crashes in a luge event in 2004. Since then, the track has received high marks from the athletes.

Germans have dominated the sport. The country's women have not lost a World Cup event since November 1997. Silke Kraushaar, Sylke Otto and Tatjana Hufner have taken turns in the top spot this season, and a medal sweep is not out of the question. Georg Hackl of Germany returns for his sixth Olympics. He will attempt to add to his collection of three gold medals and two silvers.

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For the United States, the best hope for a medal is the 30-year-old Tony Benshoof of White Bear Lake, Minn., who finished in third place in the World Cup standings. Although he has not won a race this season, Benshoof has finished in the top three in five of the eight World Cup events, including four second-place results.

Brian Martin and Mark Grimmette have spent the season answering questions about whether they will add a gold medal to their collection. They won a doubles Olympic bronze medal in 1998 and a silver in 2002. But they were in danger of not making the Olympic team until they won a World Cup event in December.